November found Metal Blade Records band Twitching Tongues on the Disharmonic Rust Tour along with support from Harm’s Way and Homewrecker. Supporting their newly released album, Disharmony, the tour would kick off November 11th and run through December 4th, leaving each visited city in rubble. Only a week into the run, the tour arrived at The Masquerade on Friday November 20th in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. A local Atlanta favorite, largely known to host the widest variety of Rock shows within the whole state of Georgia, there is hardly one person living in or around the city that has not attended to a show there at least once in their lifetime. When word got around in September of an action-packed tour heading towards the south, Atlantan’s social media blew up with tweets like “R.I.P” and Facebook flyer shares galore. Finally, mid November, the Disharmonic Rust Tour hit the middle stage of the venue, Purgatory, and fans packed the venue for the night of Metal.
Due to unfortunate events, Homewrecker’s van broke down along the way, and a result, were unable to perform. With some luck, local Atlanta band, Criminal Instinct, stepped up and took their place on the bill. One month prior to the concert, Criminal Instinct played a show introducing brand new songs that, with the exception of one, have not been released anywhere online for additional listening. The band took benefit of playing in front of a large and diverse crowd and decided to perform the new tunes again, and like always, the crowd loved them. Crunchy, distorted guitar and bass riffs matched with fast-paced, tight-hitting drums created a head banger’s ball inside the room. Fans move back and forth across the room, moshing, stage diving, and screaming along to the lyrics with gravelly voices. Criminal Instinct’s discography speak volumes on being true to yourself, your words, your actions and to fight off and never succumb to the pettiness and scum that has stained the world. This message can be heard in all the songs they played that night, such as “Fever,” “World So Full,” and “Slow Roll.” Keep an eye out in 2016 for Criminal Instinct’s upcoming LP, which will be the band’s first signed under Closed Casket Activities and recorded by Taylor Young of Twitching Tongues.
It had been almost a year since Chicago-based band Harm’s Way hit the streets of Atlanta with their last visit being right after the release of Rust in late March. With that in mind, there could not be a more perfect title for the band’s new full-length, providing listeners with a visual representation of what the Nu-Metal sounding album reveals. Just like the description the name suggests, the songs that accompany it all have an elemental quality of roughness, with a clear, yet dense and heavy sound. The bass immediately pulls the listener in, if not pummels into their ears until they feel it resonate deep within their chest. The guitar grinds the air against the clashing of drums to create a sludgy tone of crudity. The vocals punch the atmosphere with great inflection, with lyrics revolved around doom and gloom in the most cathartic way.
Aware of the intensity of Harm’s Way music, fans surrounding the stage could feel this release of energy and the members themselves acted as if it was their first time experiencing it too. Immediately going into the first song, the lights flashed on and off as fast as lightening and everyone was jumping and spinning. All sense of time was lost and the whole room seemed to be spiraling into oblivion. Opening up with “Infestation,” most of their set consisted of titles off of Rust, but older fans would rejoice to classics such as “Fantasy.” Harm’s Way will make their return to the city in February a part of their tour supporting At The Gates, Decapitated, and The Haunted, so do not miss out.
As the night neared its end, Southern Californians Twitching Tongues were set to send off fans with a much more ominous vibe. Consisting of Colin Young (vocals), Taylor Young (guitar/vocals), former Hatebreed member F. Sean Martin (guitar), Anthonie Gonzalez (bass), and Cayle Sain (drums), Twitching Tongues have been making quite a big impact in their relatively brief history. Releasing their debut record, Sleep Therapy, in 2012, There is No Law in 2013, and recently, Disharmony in 2015, the band shows no signs of slowing down in their efforts to dominate. Those who have heard Disharmony would agree the record is relentless, powerful, and one to absolutely be heard at a live venue.
Showgoers, still brimming with vigor, gathered around in the darkness as the off-key, yet symphonic, piano intro rings in the background. The band instantly created a pressure of acoustics from the front of the pit that swarmed in and around everyone in the room as they opened with “Disharmony.” With everyone singing and grabbing the mic any chance they got, it came at no surprise that the album by the same name is already so well versed amongst listeners, even at being released just one month prior to the show. Before taking off on the road for the Disharmonic Rust Tour, the band had asked on Twitter, “What songs should be played off the new album” – and what the people want, the people got. Front-runners like “Insincerely Yours (Tears & Blood),” “Asylum Avenue,” and of course “Disharmony” started their set for the evening.
The aforementioned tracks were also accompanied by older pieces such as “Eyes Adjust,” “Departure,” and “I Fell From Grace.” The dynamic duo of guitar work crossed realms with both old and new material, further illustrating the meaning of disharmony, but in the best way possible. Wrapping up with older favorites such as “Preacher Man” and “World War V,” Twitching Tongues left The Masquerade in exhaust and content. Their performance, along with the rest of the Disharmonic Rust Tour, was a massive success. Presently, the band is taking a well-deserved break for the holidays before going on tour in Germany, January of 2016, with H20, Iron Reagan, Risk It!, and Wisdom in Chains.
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